A general conversion strategy by involving a shifted parameter $\theta$ is proposed to construct high-order accuracy difference formulas for fractional calculus operators. By converting the second-order backward difference formula with such strategy, a novel $\theta$-scheme with correction terms is developed for the subdiffusion problem with nonsmooth data, which is robust even for very small $\alpha$ and can resolve the initial singularity.The optimal error estimates are carried out with essential arguments and are verified by numerical tests.